Early-Career Academy
The BMC Early-Career Academy brings together outstanding biomedical researchers establishing independent programs at the BMC. Members hold prestigious funding awards and are provided with strong institutional support at the BMC.
BMC Early-Career Research Groups
Get to know our current independent BMC early-career group leaders:
What we offer
The BMC is an attractive host institute for early-career group leaders who are aiming to establish their own independent research programmes. Scientists who secure competitive funding to launch their own group are welcomed into a vibrant and supportive academic setting at our center. We support interested candidates early on during the application process offering targeted coaching and interview preparation. Particular emphasis is placed on competitive schemes such as ERC grants and the DFG Emmy Noether Program.
As members of the BMC Early Career Academy, successful candidates benefit from tailored support designed to strengthen their path to independence. This includes access to our extensive international network as well as state-of-the-art Core Facilities and cutting-edge technologies. In addition, the Academy fosters strong peer exchange and networking opportunities, complemented by structured mentoring from experienced researchers outside the own field of research. This integrated support framework is designed to help early-career group leaders build sustainable, internationally competitive research careers.
Why join the BMC
The Biomedical Center brings together eight research-intensive divisions and institutes of the Medical Faculty of LMU on the Großhadern/Martinsried campus. The location is regarded as one of the most important addresses for life sciences in Europe - a unique concentration of renowned scientific institutions.
As a BMC member, you will benefit from our strong local, national and international networks, as well as access to our Core Facilities on-site, which offer cutting-edge expertise and resources to advance your projects through different technical approaches. As an early-career group leader, you may find it challenging to attract talented staff at first. We will support you through this process with targeted recruitment methods and outreach campaigns. To enhance the visibility of your research, you can rely on support from the BMC Public Relations team. Our science support teams provide practical help across many areas and support you in handling administrative procedures. Once you join us, our onboarding scheme offers you numerous tips about the BMC, LMU and life in Munich. Scientific and social events held throughout the year also help you and your new team members to settle in quickly.
Discover our values and how you can contribute to our initiatives.
Contact us
Please send us your CV and short summary of your research achievements and future research plans to earlycareer@bmc.med.lmu.de .
Your Start
Researchers seeking to establish their own research group at the BMC can draw on several well-recognized funding routes. National schemes from the DFG (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft) include the DFG Emmy Noether Program, as well as project-based funding providing early opportunities for scientific independence. At the European level, the prestigious ERC Starting and Consolidator Grants offer substantial support for setting up a research group at a German institution. The success of these strategies has already become evident, as a number of these early-career group leaders have taken the next career steps after successful years at the BMC, and are now professors at other faculties or universities (BMC Alumni Groups).
Success stories of BMC early-career group leaders
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© Medizinische Universität Innsbruck
Sabine Liebscher is looking back on her time at the BMC in Martinsried with great fondness. She joined the BMC as an Emmy Noether group leader and established her research group at the Institute of Clinical Neuroimmunology, where she studied the circuit mechanisms of CNS disorders with a particular focus on ALS. Before coming to the BMC, she trained as an MD, worked at the Rockefeller University in New York, completed her PhD at the Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology, and later worked as a clinician scientist at the LMU in Munich.
At the BMC, she especially appreciated the many collegial and collaborative groups, which made the BMC an inspiring and highly supportive place to work. She strongly benefited from the excellent core facilities, including the animal models core facility and the bioimaging facility, as well as the outstanding support from the in-house workshop. Her time at the BMC was an important and formative stage in her career, before she went on to be recruited as W2 professor in Cologne and later became the Director of the Institute of Systems Neuroscience at the Medical University of Innsbruck (Austria).
Reflecting on her time at the BMC, she said: "At the BMC, I experienced an environment that combines scientific excellence with genuine collegiality. I especially appreciated the open exchange, the inspiring atmosphere, support by outstanding core facilities and the opportunity to work together on exciting scientific questions. My time in Martinsried was very valuable and has had a lasting impact on me both professionally and personally.”
© J. Greune / LMU
Rodrigo Villaseñor has led an Emmy Noether research group at the BMC since 2022 within the Division of Molecular Biology. He completed his PhD in Biochemistry at the University of Basel and was a postdoctoral researcher in the Baubec Lab at the University of Zurich from 2016 to 2022. His research investigates the combinatorial complexity of chromatin. Supported by funding from the DFG (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft) and the ERC (European Research Council), his work aims to uncover the regulatory principles that shape chromatin states in health and disease.
"The science of the BMC is very diverse, so I am constantly learning new things about different fields in science. It is also a great place to work because it's multicultural, international and very supportive for young scientists."
© jan greune
Susanne Koch did her postdoctoral research at Columbia University in New York. In 2018, she received a grant from the renowned DFG Emmy Noether program and elected to start her research group at the BMC in the Department of Physiological Genomics. As major drivers for her decision to join the BMC, Susanne Koch names the interactive structure, the close interplay between basic and clinical research as well as the outstanding research infrastructure of the Center and the Großhadern/Martinsried campus. Especially the Core Facilities Bioimaging and Bioinformatics and the state-of-the-art animal facility were decisive aspects for her. Susanne Koch used her time at the BMC as springboard to professorship. Since October 2020, she holds a W2-professorship for Molecular Pharmacology at the Department of Pharmacy at the LMU.
Looking back, she says: “What I especially appreciate about the BMC is that you can easily get in contact with other scientists. Due to various seminar series and events (like the BMC Science Seasons and the summer BBQ) I quickly gained important insights into the research of different groups at the BMC, had the chance to get in touch with people and was inspired to try and use new methods."
